Gasket cutter



Jan. 3, 1950 w. WAGNER I 2,493,513

- GASKET CUTTER Filed April 1, 1949 1 J ,"IIZI\IF;IIIIIIIIIIIII f 9 106INVENTOR.

WILLIAM WAGNER.

ATTO/Q'NEK Patented Jan. 3, 1950 UNITED STATES PAT NT: OFFICE GASKETCUTTER William Wagner, Brooklyn. N. Y. Application April 1, 1949, SerialNo. 84,796

This invention relates to a notch cutter for gaskets of refrigeratordoors and the like.

Refrigerator door gaskets are manufactured in continuous strips orlengths which must be cut to appropriate size to fit the doors of themany different makes, sizes and styles of refrigerators now on themarket. They must also be notched at appropriate points for the purposeof forming corners and also for the purpose of enabling the gaskets tofollow the contours of doors with curved sides or edges. A 90 cornerrequires a 90 notch in the gasket and a gentle curve necessitates theformation of a plurality of acute angle notches in the gasket. Theproblem of providing suitable notches, accurately spaced and preciselyplaced is not very serious in the plants where refrigerators are made,since in long production runs of gaskets for a given size and type ofrefrigerator prefabrication or pre-notching is the keynote. The problemdoes attain substantial proportions however, when the repairman orserviceman in the refrigeration field is called upon to substitute areplacement gasket for the one with which the refrigerator wasoriginally equipped. The serviceman has to contend with a great manymakes and sizes and types of refrigerators. He must also contend withmany types of gaskets. And his problem is to incorporate the proper typeof notch in the right place in each individual case.

It is clear therefore that servicemen have had to take time consumingmeasurements and that they have also had to engage in considerableguesswork in order to fit a given gasket to a given refrigerator door.They have had to lay out each gasket for pre-notching before mountingthe gasket on the refrigerator door. Improvised tools have been devisedfor assisting in this work but these tools have invariably been awkwardto use and their accuracy has been considerably less than desired andrequired. In short, no gasket notcher has heretofore been devised whichis adapted to cut a notch of suitable size in precisely the right placeand in accurate angular alignment. Efforts have also been made to notchthe gasket during the process of mounting it on the door so that eachnotch would be cut as its appropriate location is reached. Satisfactorynotching means have not however heretofore been devised for doing thiskind of work and although this would be the ideal method of afiixing areplacement gasket to a refrigerator door, the method has not heretoforebeen in wide use for want of a suitable tool to notch the gasketdirectly on the refrigerator door.

4 Claims. (01. 30-178) cutting notches of different sizes.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a gasket notcherwhich may be applied to a gasket during the course of the process ofaffixing' it to a refrigerator door. The gasket notcher of the presentinvention functions in the nianner'of a pair of cutting pliers ornippers. It may be held in one hand precisely as a pair of pliers isheld and it may be used very conveniently in the precise location wherea corner or notch is required.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a notch cutter ofthe character described which includes gasket aligning means forprecisely aligning the gasket with respect to the cutter. A guideisprovided for the gasket which positions the gasket on aline to which thecutter is perpendicular. to accurately align the cutter with respect tothat point on the gasket which is to coincide with the corner of thedoor.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a gasketnotcher of the character described wherein the cutter is adjustable forIn the preferred form of this adjustable notcher, the cutter isadjustable from an angle of to an angle of 25 or less. It will becomeapparent from a reading of this specification that the cutter comprisesa pair of blades which are independently movable. A single screwpositions each blade. It is therefore possible, for this type of gasketnotcher, to cut an asymmetrical notch, that is a notch whose edges areinclined at different angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of vthe gasket.

controlling the depthof the cut or notch in the gasket and it is usefulin connection with gaskets of different Widths.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a gasket notcherof the character described wherein'th'e cutter co-acts with an anvilwhich is made of softer material than the cutter and which isreplaceable at will. The cutter is made 'of hardened steel and the anvilis made of a relatively soft material such as pressed wood, which isheld in place by a single screw. The cutter cuts grooves into the anviland its cutting An indicator is providedi erator door gasket.

. at all points from the vertex of notch I I I l r p iv Whi h' r aiiaaeeto aieeke .8.. and U9, respectively. Eastened to ock qt 3 action withrespect to the gasket is thereby enhanced.

The invention herein claimed has thus far been described in terms of itsapplication to a refrig- This, however, should be taken as illustrativeof the many functions and purposes of the present invention. Theinvention is well adapted for other applications but for purposes ofconvenience and clarity, the specification will be limited to its use inconnection with gaskets for refrigerator doors.

Preferred forms of this invention are shown in looking pwa y a d ewejaw:

i e a i ar vi w ea n d w war iir a i. id e e ia nd more p a l 11 11.anvil;

ie- 5 is a iew eak n unw rd r a he uppe jaw of the notcher showing thecutter in o1 n' te d. thereon. 1

notch I I I in block I I0 and said vertex serves as a fulcrum for saidblades when they engage in angular movement as will shortly appear.Blocks H8 and I I9 are adapted to move integrally with their respectiveblades. Since screws I I5 and H6 engage said blocks through slots II2and H3, and since the blades are in engagement with each other in thevertex of notch I I I, said blocks are movable arcuately only, to theextent that the slots will permit such movement. When the blocks, and"hence. the cutting blades, are as far apart from each other as the slotswill permit,

- a 90 angle separates them. When they are as iae ahi tc are hew i he.

w n a n up er h ndle t l .dia ower handle m. Upper andle .1 s aivei nveeiir nected by means of rivet I02 to upper jaw 103; Upper jaw I03 is al'piv tal y qni eeted; b ns of r et' t ow ha d e, 1 and said ew r and x sf wa ly a t rivet 104 it.

form. ow law we A tqeel 'l 25 eiv al 'v connected by means of rivet [01to upper handle I00 and by means of rivet N18 to the lower handle I01.It win clearly be n in Fig. Zthat toggle link [0 6 is permanentlyconnected to rivet It] but it is only detachably connected to link Hi8.Link .6 m e ched from ve when it i si e to Open th tea Wide as Feasib e.or

I the purpose of replacing some of its parts Teneioii spring we i eeneeied a are earl i9 haiiale 1.0 a d at its op osit e wie e e a lie. e we i e s 11? and me t w l e en. train the foregoing that a toggleconnectionis pr vided between t e lower andle and aw 1 heen a d d he uppr andl and i' ner aw en th th d he tee e ei a to. e se t aws;

is opposed by'spring I09, since the tendency or;

said spring is to urge the two jaws into cpenjpm eiiien relative a lieihe ii-e came. i li'ier trates but one type of pliers action and it beunderstood that other types are equally available and useful for thepurposes of the ent invention. a 7

Upper jaw I03. is substantially triangular shape. At its forward end, itis provided with a block m1v having a 'v-shaped notch II iornied.

Y therein in line with the longitudinal axis of the" tool. The upper jawalso has a pair of arcuate la e Hz nd l orm her in, a e eer situated ona circular linev which is e uidi ant in slots II2 and I13 is a pair ofscr means of screws I20 is abutting blade IZI and s d o bleak. y niea e(i eere s '22. is

close together as said slots will permit, an acute angle of less than 30separates them.

It will be seen from the foregoing that blades I 2I and I2 3 of the toolnow under discussion are adjustable with respect to each other so thatthey may be used to cut a notch in the gasket to any angular width fromless than 30 to 90. riehe th t lo s 2 and e a Q l eiaie so that blocksH8 and. H9 and hence cutting blades IZI and I23 may be set at anyangular po sition relative to each other. When said blocks and bladesare set properly, screws H5 and II6 are'tightened to prevent accidentaldisplacement of said blocks and blades. To readjust and reset them, saidscrews are loosened and the blocks n l s a m e eit er ward r a ay f m ah other. s e i Thes r we are th il once again tightened and the tool isonce again ready for use.

L we r me has an an i .28. whi h is mad o lati e soft m t ial a h. as ssd, W095i o pl st c n t ha a s ida m nted xte sion piece I25 with anupwardly extending flange or guide wall I 26. A centrally disposedindicator I21 is formed or marked on said guide wall I Ex en on iece 2 sppo y m ans, of a plate I30 which is afiixed by means of screws Iii l tothe bottom of lower jaw I05. Plate [304 has a slot I32 formed therein,longitudinally of the tool. A screw I33 engages extension piece I25through said slot I32. When screw I33 is loos; ne n ion P ece '25 a bemoved utwar ly or inwardly, as desired, to provide greater o le s r c ance between gui e wall. I26 and: the point where blades 21 and I23nieet'. th s. marine ntr a e had i h epth Q thegasket notch which thetoolcuts, Y

The fereaeiae s dee riet re of a r fe re or f he re ent, i QIltiO T is.pr ierred era be e er m d ed in dif rent e. i hi he. e iae ei e Pr sentr'e iien a e.

th r s o t e. i iv iiell also be be? Wi l 13 mounted 1 Q 1 a ieii iiinowa d e el h r. b a es; e e. mqilabie oward, and away fro e rainer t lvary the angular :listancc etween t ananvll ll III/(ll for ai bi se en ho r eie i l ve eiii ii me o e a l iie. e. ea ze an he evilr a v ie said.lades. I

2. A no c cu ter o g s ets nd, he. i e, said ne el e ier e i i i iiie. apa ei QQ il iv a o e ted ha s. a. air at ee-iae i ie jawsfon saidhandles, a pair of cutting a s adjustably. mounted on oneof said jaws,in Vre.. lationship toward each other, said blades, being movable towarda d awa fr m each other a vary the angular distance between them, ananvil for said blades on the other of said jaws and guiding means forlocating the gasket on the anvil relative to said blades, said guidingmeans being adjustably positioned on said other jaw for movement towardand away from the blades to control the depth of the notch in thegasket.

3. A notch cutter for gaskets and the like, said notch cutter comprisinga pair of co-acting, pivotally connected handles, a pair of co-actingjaws on said handles, a V-shaped cutter mounted on one of said jaws,said cutter being adjustable to vary the angular distance between thetwo arms of the V, an anvil for said cutter on the other of said jaws,and guiding means for cating the gasket on the anvil relative to saidcutter.

4. A notch cutter for gaskets and the like, comprising a pair ofco-acting, pivotally connected handles, a pair of co-acting jaws on saidhandles, a V-shaped cutter mounted on one of said jaws, said cuttercomprising a pair of cutting arms which are movable toward and away fromeach other about the vortex of the V, a pair of adjusting screwsconnected to said cutting arms for adjusting their relative angularpositions, an anvil for said cutter on the other of said jaws, anadjustable guide wall mounted on said other jaw, and an adjusting screwfor adjusting the position of said guide wall relative to said cutter.

WILLIAM WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 58,183 Whitlock Sept. 18, 1866114,674 Grlffith May 9, 1871 151,711 Morgan et a1. June 9, 1874 573,110Shannon Dec. 15, 1896 854,297 Limacher May 21, 1907 2,224,226 JensenDec. 10, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 232,908 SwitzerlandSept. 16, 1944

